Another Outlet for My Reality Obsessed Self

Let me preface this post by saying that we are a soccer family. Love being outside, sitting in our little canvas sling over shoulder chairs, rooting for kids, getting a tan... you catch my drift.

Well, wouldnt you know it. Blake has been wanting to play hockey. ICE. we let him try it out a few times, and he really was quite good. A long time ago, he saw something that said that our local rink was having a hockey clinic over the summer... we told him he had a choice. he could go to one camp this year. guess what he chose? yep. and he has not forgotten about this at all!
we get him all signed up and it really is a good deal. you pay 200 for 6 weeks of instruction and you get the whole gear: skates, bag as big as a coffin, stick, helmet, jersey, pants, legwarmers, elbow/knee pads. this was our second week, and the whole thing just cracks me up and baffles me at the same time. everyone in there is from the north. no one with a southern accent at all. all new york/new jersey/canadian transfers have their kid in hockey . i take him back to the dressing room, and all the dads and one a couple of moms are all trying to get their kids dressed. it is a task, let me tell you. took 20 minutes start to finish. after he got dressed, he walked to the ice, looking like the pillsbury dough boy, cause he is now 100 heavier with all of the padding, and his arms will NOT go down by his side.
he does well and i adore watching him in the 60 degree rink with stone cold bleachers. sigh. lol.
what is so cute are the dads. a lot of them are out there skating with their 4 yr olds. you can just tell that hockey is their passion and they want their sons to love it too. some of these men are mobster looking, and it really is heart warming to see them lose some toughness as they help their son around the rink. a lot of screaming and carrying on goes along with the instruction, but a lot of learning and being a boy also included. i am not used to the loud mouths and macho.
different world. each sport has it. interesting to see how far blake wants to go with hockey. funny how your child's interest become yours, even when you never thought possible.